Latest / Crosswalk Talk: Celebrity Christian Interviews / What 45,000 Students Lining Up at 3am Says About This Generation

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What 45,000 Students Lining Up at 3am Says About This Generation · Crosswalk Talk: Celebrity Christian Interviews

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hey Christian, thanks for joining me.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: Hey, good to be with you, Michael.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Thanks man, Christian Stanfilip Passion Music is our guest today. Christian.
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  Speaker 1: You have new music. You guys have new music. The
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  Speaker 1: album is titled Just That Good. I've really enjoyed listening
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  Speaker 1: to it. You have an upcoming tour as well. I
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  Speaker 1: wanted to begin though, by talking about this current movement
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  Speaker 1: of God that many are seeing among gen Z, among
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  Speaker 1: the general population as well. You guys have been kind
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  Speaker 1: of on the front lines of reaching out to the
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  Speaker 1: young people of this nation for a long time. What
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  Speaker 1: are you seeing right now though, in terms of this
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  Speaker 1: outpouring of the spirit, this hunger of God among gen
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  Speaker 1: Z and among young people.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's pretty beautiful, man. There's a real hunger to gather,
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  Speaker 2: like a desire to gather together. There's a real hunger
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  Speaker 2: for God's word and authenticity in the worship. There's a
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  Speaker 2: real desire to share, like these students sharing their faith
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  Speaker 2: with their friends like an evangelistic spirit like on campus,
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  Speaker 2: which is pretty pretty wild. And you know, we've been
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  Speaker 2: a part of Passion, my wife and I for over
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  Speaker 2: twenty years now, and man, I can't remember ever seeing
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  Speaker 2: this kind of hunger or desire to meet with God,
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  Speaker 2: with the people of God, to know God's word, to
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  Speaker 2: share their faith. You know, it's it's pretty incredible to watch.
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  Speaker 2: And I think, you know, it comes down to this.
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  Speaker 2: I think this generation wants something durable, something that lasts,
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  Speaker 2: something they can build their life on that's not going
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  Speaker 2: to let them down. And you know, you and I
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  Speaker 2: as well as this generation, I've been promised a lot
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  Speaker 2: of things by culture or this world or social media
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  Speaker 2: or I don't know, some kind of fame or attention
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  Speaker 2: or success. All of that just it's got holes all
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  Speaker 2: through it, man. But the Word of God and the
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  Speaker 2: abundant life that Jesus promises, it's real and it's lasting,
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  Speaker 2: and these students are discovering that, and it's they want
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  Speaker 2: to live for it. It's not hypie, it's not emotional.
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  Speaker 2: It's like real life change. There's like repentance, confession and
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  Speaker 2: holy living happening. It's really beautiful to watch.
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  Speaker 1: What do you think is driving this this current hunger
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  Speaker 1: for God among gen zy? What has happened in the
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  Speaker 1: past few years.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think you know, it's back to what I
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  Speaker 2: was saying just a second ago. I think they're looking
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  Speaker 2: for something that's going to like stand up under the
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  Speaker 2: weight of their life and their concerns and their worries
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  Speaker 2: and all that kind of thing. But you know, we
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  Speaker 2: saw a real turn back in twenty three, in February
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  Speaker 2: of twenty three during this Asbury stirring outpouring, and I'm
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  Speaker 2: sure there were other things going on around that time,
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  Speaker 2: but you know, that seemed to really open the door
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  Speaker 2: to something fresh in our country. In the US, something
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  Speaker 2: really fresh began to move and stir specifically on college campuses.
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  Speaker 2: And I think, man, this is just my this is
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  Speaker 2: just my observation. I'm just one person. I'm sure somebody
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  Speaker 2: else has a more astute observation or opinion. But I
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  Speaker 2: think what the Asbery thing did is it stripped back
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  Speaker 2: all of the slick, high production value celebrity culture Christianity, like,
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  Speaker 2: it stripped all that away and it just got back
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  Speaker 2: to this simple, the simple thing of God just wants
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  Speaker 2: to meet with his people. He just wants a heart
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  Speaker 2: that is surrendered to him and just coming simply like
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  Speaker 2: a child to him, just going I have faith and
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  Speaker 2: I want to know you. And that's been the move man,
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  Speaker 2: And that's not to say anything bad about production or
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  Speaker 2: you know, lights or anything like that, because I know
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  Speaker 2: a lot of people in production and that's their expression
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  Speaker 2: of worship and it's beautiful. I think it all comes
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  Speaker 2: down to the heart behind all of it. But anyway,
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  Speaker 2: I think that just started to like take down all
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  Speaker 2: of that, like, yeah, it's got to be this big,
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  Speaker 2: blown up thing to like, No, just remember, remember it
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  Speaker 2: comes down to a heart of faith wanting to meet
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  Speaker 2: with God and man, he rests on those people.
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  Speaker 1: So amen to that. Amen to that. I had been
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  Speaker 1: chatting with friends. We were all talking about the current
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  Speaker 1: movement of God among gen Z and it it's really
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  Speaker 1: wild how it might have started at Asbury. So I'm
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  Speaker 1: glad you mentioned that. And let's chat about the album
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  Speaker 1: Just That Good. What are your favorite tracks on the
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  Speaker 1: album which once have resonated with audiences?
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  Speaker 2: Oh gosh, Oh it's so hard, man, because when you
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  Speaker 2: get so attached. I love these songs. I love this project.
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  Speaker 2: I love what all the songs represent. I have incredible
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  Speaker 2: memories with every soul leading Just That Good has been
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  Speaker 2: a blast. You know, this song it's an expression of
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  Speaker 2: gratitu to an expression of joy, you know, from from
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  Speaker 2: a heart from a life that's been redeemed, saved by Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: You know, for me personally, I have a lot to
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  Speaker 2: be thankful for. I have a lot of joy in
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  Speaker 2: my life for what God has delivered me from and
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  Speaker 2: for the way He's revealing himself to me.
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  Speaker 1: I have a lot.
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  Speaker 2: I'll have a lot of joy and gratitude to express.
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  Speaker 2: And that's where the song comes from and turns out, Man,
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  Speaker 2: that thread, that through line, that theme of the joy
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  Speaker 2: of the Lord. It it kind of went from beginning
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  Speaker 2: to end through conference and just getting undignified and unhinged
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  Speaker 2: with these students, just like, let's just dance before the Lord,
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  Speaker 2: let's sing to him, let's let's have a great time
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  Speaker 2: in the presence of God together, just worshiping Him for
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  Speaker 2: who he is, for what he's done. So that joy,
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  Speaker 2: you know, kind of strung through the whole conference, and
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  Speaker 2: so we thought, man, just that good feels like it's
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  Speaker 2: the right tone. It's the right song for the you know,
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  Speaker 2: the title track, love Love, Love love that song, and
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  Speaker 2: there's so many good you know, other ones like what
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  Speaker 2: a worthy Name is Just it's such a holy moment
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  Speaker 2: declaring who God is singing about the truth of his character.
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  Speaker 2: Landon leading watch him work is a powerful, straight like
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  Speaker 2: statement of faith, you know. Just so I have a
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  Speaker 2: lot of a lot of great, great thoughts by these songs,
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  Speaker 2: love them.
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  Speaker 1: And the Passion conference I believe that we're referencing was
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  Speaker 1: in Texas, Is that right? Yeah?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. We were at a Globe Life field
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  Speaker 2: in Arlington and it was you know, like forty five
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  Speaker 2: thousand college students there. And you know, I just say
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  Speaker 2: that just to like highlight you know, what we were
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  Speaker 2: talking about earlier. Like these students, they they come from
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  Speaker 2: all over. They just want to gather, They just want
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  Speaker 2: to be there. They want to be in the room.
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  Speaker 2: They want to experience God and with their generation and
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  Speaker 2: and bro, I just like the picture that's into my
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  Speaker 2: brain is driving from the hotel to the two Globe
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  Speaker 2: Live field one morning and watching these kids. They're lightning.
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  Speaker 2: These kids, well they are kids. I'm in my forties now,
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  Speaker 2: so they're kids. But these students, I don't mean the
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  Speaker 2: benean them though. Like they're they're lined up all around
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  Speaker 2: this building, all down the block, and they all have
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  Speaker 2: their Bibles. They're all holding their physical Bibles and they're
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  Speaker 2: they're just ready. You can sense it on them in
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  Speaker 2: the line, like we are ready to meet with God.
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  Speaker 2: And and so then you go, well, how long have
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  Speaker 2: these students been here? Like they got here at three
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  Speaker 2: o'clock this morning, they got here at three thirty, they
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  Speaker 2: got to hear at four o'clock this morning, lining up
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  Speaker 2: just so they can they so they can get in,
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  Speaker 2: get in the room, they can be some of the
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  Speaker 2: first in the room. They're just hungry man like, it's
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  Speaker 2: only it's just a hunger and a thirst for God
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  Speaker 2: and his word. It's just crazy. So anyway, it was
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  Speaker 2: a phenomenal year.
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  Speaker 1: Phenomenal for those who have never been to a passion
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  Speaker 1: conference Christian. What is it? Is it? Several hours of
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  Speaker 1: music and then testimonies and then a sermon? Is that?
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  Speaker 1: What's kind of what how you would describe it?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just essentially, Yeah, I mean it's you know,
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  Speaker 2: we usually have a lot of really cool creative elements.
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  Speaker 2: We have an amazing team of people who they make,
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  Speaker 2: you know, these really cool video elements. And again like
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  Speaker 2: these are people who, at the heart of it, they
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  Speaker 2: love Jesus and this is their expression of worship. So
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  Speaker 2: it's very cool, like these videos are anointed, like it's crazy,
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  Speaker 2: and the stage design and all of it.
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  Speaker 1: Like a lot of people.
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  Speaker 2: Man, we have people stand outside Passion every year picketing,
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  Speaker 2: being like this is, you know, just a show, It's
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  Speaker 2: just a concert. And I'm like, man, you guys don't know,
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  Speaker 2: you don't know, you don't know what you don't know.
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  Speaker 2: We've been around for so long, and I can tell
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  Speaker 2: you the heart of this thing is to see Jesus
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  Speaker 2: exalted in this generation and to see college students live
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  Speaker 2: for what matters most, which is the fame and the
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  Speaker 2: name and the glory of God in their lifetime. Anything
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  Speaker 2: other than that is a waste of time. So at
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  Speaker 2: the heart of Passion, that's what it is. But we
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  Speaker 2: do love. We love the stage design, and we love
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  Speaker 2: the videos, and we love the moments and the songs.
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  Speaker 2: And then we have these incredible friends who've been around
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  Speaker 2: Passion for years, who love God and they love his word,
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  Speaker 2: they know his word, and they bring these incredible messages.
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  Speaker 2: We have testimonies from students. We ask students to give
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  Speaker 2: money to raise money for like to translate scripture for
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  Speaker 2: unreached people groups, and these students show up and give
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  Speaker 2: just incredibly they've given millions of dollars over the years
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  Speaker 2: to translate scripture to rescue people. And it's an incredible moment.
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  Speaker 2: Like if you can be in the room, you feel
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  Speaker 2: the Kingdom of God potential in the room, like you
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  Speaker 2: feel the Kingdom advancing. It's so visceral, it's so re time,
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  Speaker 2: it's so raw, it's so powerful, like it's it really
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  Speaker 2: is like it not literally will knock you over sometimes
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  Speaker 2: and you're like, I can't I can't believe. I get
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  Speaker 2: to be in the room and observe this happening, let
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  Speaker 2: alone be a part of like leading like that's that's crazy,
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  Speaker 2: that's crazy.
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  Speaker 1: Couple more questions for you before we close here, Christian
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  Speaker 1: and I give us a preview of the tour. I
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  Speaker 1: know Taya is going to be part of it. Well,
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  Speaker 1: what's the tour going to be?
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  Speaker 2: Yep, So we're going out with Taya and Levi Lusco,
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  Speaker 2: who preaches it passion. He's he's preached a passion quite
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  Speaker 2: a bit. He's a great friend of ours. So we
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  Speaker 2: got Taya and passion music kind of like anchoring the
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  Speaker 2: music parts of it. It's going to be so great.
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  Speaker 2: And then Levi is going to come in there at
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  Speaker 2: some point and bring bring a message. And we've been
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  Speaker 2: talking a lot, you know, me and Taya and the
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  Speaker 2: three of us have been talking and texting, and it's
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  Speaker 2: really cool that like we all want the same thing.
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  Speaker 2: Like none of us are interested in just going on
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: who are doing a bunch of concerts. Like I have
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  Speaker 2: a family, I have four kids, I have a community
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  Speaker 2: of friends. I am not interested in leaving my house
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  Speaker 2: and my family to go do a show somewhere, or
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  Speaker 2: to go do a concert or just play songs like
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  Speaker 2: that is not if I'm leaving home, and if Taya's
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  Speaker 2: leaving home, and if Levi's leaving man. We are going
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  Speaker 2: in the power of God with faith in our hearts
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  Speaker 2: that every city we go to, He's going to do
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  Speaker 2: something fresh, something powerful, and we're we're going into each
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  Speaker 2: city like seeking seeking that out. So we got music,
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  Speaker 2: we got teaching, and I'm sure a couple other surprises.
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  Speaker 1: Along the way.
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  Speaker 2: But I hope people will come out and see it
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  Speaker 2: because we really believe it's going to be a great
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  Speaker 2: night of worship.
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  Speaker 1: If you like today's episode, please subscribe and leave a
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: five star review. That's how we help more people just
• 11:49
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• 11:52
  Speaker 1: team at life Audio for their partnership with us on
• 11:55
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• 11:57
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• 12:01
  Speaker 1: See you next time.